The Democratic Alliance has called for government to go beyond allowing private trains on to Transnet’s freight rail network and concession the management, maintenance and operation of key corridors to private operators.
The call follows the conclusion of rail access agreements with 11 private train operating companies.
In a statement, DA deputy spokesperson on transport, S’bongiseni Vilakazi, said the current intervention did not go far enough to address South Africa’s logistics constraints.
“Allowing private trains on to Transnet’s old and failing infrastructure is not the same as introducing genuine competition into the rail sector,” Vilakazi said. South Africa required private-sector participation not only in train operations, but also in the management, maintenance and operation of strategic freight rail corridors, he said.
The 24 million tonnes expected from the first group of approved operators represented only a fraction of the capacity required to meet Transnet’s longer-term freight rail target of 250 million tonnes by 2030, Vilakazi said.
“The urgency of reform is amplified by favourable global commodity prices currently benefiting South African exporters. Every month of delay means lost export earnings, reduced economic growth, and lower tax revenues for the fiscus.”
The private sector could provide the capital investment, technical expertise and operational efficiencies that Transnet has “consistently failed to deliver”, he said, adding that Transnet was “being kept afloat by the fiscus”, including government guarantees amounting to R95 billion over the past year.
“The rehabilitation of critical export corridors such as the Northern Corridor and Iron Ore lines continues to rely on further state bailouts instead of bringing private-sector partners on board to improve performance and lower costs,” Vilakazi said.
